Dylan Gibson

May. 18, 2021

I totally overlooked this the other day. Didn't see it at all. What an awesome bridge. Horai Bridge in Shimada, Shizuoka. Apparently the longest wooden walking bridge and even recorded in The Guinness Book of World Records. Amazing that it was built in 1879 but it can still hold so many people and is in such good shape. I wonder if it gets regular maintenance done. That newer looking segment partway through would have me think so. According to a quote in the original post taken from the Shimada City Homepage, the bridge was for agricultural use to cultivate the Makinohara Plateau which lays on the other side. Previously the people would have to cross by boat which was apparently dangerous. Looks like a really nice place to visit and the bridge has some history as well. Cool stuff!

松山 正之
May. 15, 2021 (edited)
Horai Bridge is the longest wooden pedestrian bridge in the world.
It is a wooden bridge over the Oi River in Shimada City, Shizuoka Prefecture.

<Quoted from Shimada City website>
Horai Bridge is an agricultural bridge built in 1879 (Meiji 12) to clear the Makinohara Plateau. Before the bridge was built, you had to cross the Oi River by small boat.
It was dangerous to go back and forth.
It is still used by farmers in the old city to manage the tea plantation on the opposite bank. In addition to playing an important role as a farm road, the Horai Bridge is a historic land improvement facility.